I love these latter era Live/Dead suites, their days were numbered here. This one is noteworthy for its Eleven having one of the rare times the band and drummers all nailed the little drum break they were doing after the "coral sands below" vocal. And it's a little nifty the way they take it into Cumberland about 10 seconds after someone shouts "Cumberland!"

I'd maybe call this Eleven mid-tempo, but it was getting slower towards the end, within the exception of the lightning fast jam on 1/16/70, whose sources have obvious speed issues but I suspect if corrected was still faster than versions surrounding it. I liked the way they would slow it down and make it quiet and play with the dynamics. I've always wished The Eleven would have at least stuck around until Mickey left, although did NFA fit well into the Live/Dead suite, if only for a year or so. Garcia once said something about the Eleven being a kind of melodic trap, and I guess it was, but I think they could have incorporated jamming in 11 in other ways as they evolved. Like they did on 9/28/75. It's not an Eleven proper, just a cool jam in 11. Ah well, "shut up and take what ya get," as Weir said on 2/5/70, which incidentally has our last great Eleven.

Anyway this was a great upgrade in part when the official came out. Too bad we don't have the rest from the amazing AUD nor more from the vault board, but they gave us the meat on the official, the rest is fun but not essential. Really nice early Black Peter though.

6 shows, two per night, at a West Hollywood club simply called "Thelma", on the Sunset Strip (it was not a theater). These are the two middle shows. The early show was brilliantly captured on a mono, handle-end cassette player, by a cat freshly back from 'Nam. Its sound surpasses the late show SBD, recorded by Owsley, but which has technical issues (nothing above 8k, for one). Thelma existed for just a couple months and somebody probably lost their ass booking this band in such a small room, when they still weren't a big draw in L.A. county. Maybe it was a vanity booking. It's amazing they got all their gear to load in (two drum kits, big amps, etc.).

First Show. The first few are just getting the feel; warming up. After Mama Tried, Constanten plays the Allemande from French Suite #1. Dire Wolf is an understated version - these all sound extremely relaxed, at the cost of liveliness. That changes with China Cat>Rider, followed by the fifth-ever Black Peter. On the latter I dig how Jer sticks with his jam @1:56>4:09, just in case he finds something sitting in a corner. The next couple are average '69, but this is a Dark Star needing several spins. In a year with over 65, I'm cautiously objective with recommending the top ten or so, but this is worthy. It starts typically, perhaps, then @6:30 they become John Cage. It must have worked - sounds like a rapt audience in the quiet. Then there's a weird, TC-influenced section @9:00, a Sputnik @10mins, and a sudden Feelin' Groovy @11:40. It's brief, as Phil hangs on, but Jer goes elsewhere. The rest is just classic '69 D.S. The Eleven is a perfect version: tight and with lots of Phil virtuosity. It has an amazing seg into Cumberland. With that they are out of alloted time and have to turn the house.

Second Show. Unfortunately SBD fidelity is lesser, because this would otherwise be a well-noted Morning Dew (the tape speeds up a little, partway). On Next Time You See Me, the solo is Pig, then Jer, then both weave around each other; brief but so good. You have to listen close to Sittin' on Top of the World, but good gods this is a smoker. For Beat it On Down the Line-21, Phil wants 35. Jer says he "can't stand past 3". Pig wants 59, then says "21 because you can usually win with it". The rest is average '69 until the finish. Good Lovin' has a reel flip cut, after which the pitch speeds up slightly. High Time was only barely recorded. Dancing in the Streets loses all of its tempo by the finish. The TiftOO Suite into Cosmic Charlie is a fine night's conclusion. They almost play UJB (which had only been played once in its complete version) or Cumberland before bowing to curfew.

Early show: B-
Late Show: C+
Overall (both) = 3¼ stars

Highlights (from both):
Dark Star - Cage's groovy Sputnik is TC'd
The Eleven - Phil virtuosity plus
Morning Dew - fried fidelity but fab
Next Time You See Me - Pig plays off Jer
Sittin' on Top of the World - good gods

SOURCES: The cotsman_8998 is the original composite that used to circulate. The 140676_partial_fob is a sweet upgrade of Rion Brady's original mono cassette of the early show. That source still has pitch issues, running fast. It needs -1% adjustment for Casey, Mama, Hurts, Rider, Black Peter & Hard to Handle; and needs -2% for China Cat & M&MU. The muddy SBD source has the rest of Dark Star and the late show (just a tad fast, it can use -1% for the first two songs). It has a reel flip cut in Good Lovin' and a cut of 3min36sec @5:29 in The Other One, that's complete on the official. Dave's 10 has the last four of the early show plus TifTOO Suite & Cosmic Charlie of the late show; all in great quality.

Best Yellow Dog Story I've heard so far.

Maybe just an average performance for a 1969 show, but the feel is outstanding, they are having a grand old time with zero pressure or pretense. A darn good recording, for what sounds like a mono handheld in a room with 10 or 15 people. Love the girl laughing at Bobby's jokes. This tape is so intimate it lets you go back in time and sit right on the stage. I've had this on cassette since the early 90s, love the reel to reel whirls, cuts and all. What a great piece of history. Late 69 is a such a cool time in their development. They have moved past the super long jams of the 3-1-69 era, the jams are obviously still here, but, IMHO, you can hear the song craft grow and grow from here right up until Port Chester Feb 1971 when they became a rock band. This is not 1969, this is pre 1970, pre-Workingmans, just glorious.

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I went to this show. The songs are completely out of order. There's even a snippet of the Airplane starting "Somebody to Love" on the tape. The show opened with "Cold Rain and Snow". Ended with a free standing "Lovelight" after a long tuneup.

good show playing is not as hard hitting as some 69 but good of course,sound is not that bad a hissy but if heard alot worse, 4 for show 3 for sound